Team CatKashi!
by Lady Blade WarAngel
Summary: Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke are sent on a mission to Demon country. Somehow they end up as cats, and Naruto finds them, and decides to look after them, thinking they're strays. As the group see how Naruto lives, will they learn something...
1. Changes & Guardians

Okay. Here is my poll winning Naruto fic. It's weird, but I'm sure I'm not the first person to write one like it. Hope y'all like it. This is set before Sasuke leaves the village. So Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are twelve. It's also set before the Chunin exams, which is kinda when Naruto actually proves himself to the village as a hero. At least in some form, so people still hate him mostly.

SUMMERY: Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke are sent on a mission to Demon country. Somehow they end up as cats, and Naruto finds them, and decides to look after them, thinking they're strays. As the group see how Naruto lives, will they learn something from their experience? And will they change back into their human forms?

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-kashi!

Chapter One – Changes and Guardians.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura and Sasuke followed Kakashi as they walked through Demon Country. They were to meet the priestess of the Kitsune Temple.

"How comes Naruto didn't come with us Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"_Typical, the one time I don't have him annoying me and I miss him."_ Sakura thought inside her head. She heard a 'Hn' from Sasuke who was next to her.

"Well you see Naruto was helping Iruka-Sensei at the academy today as a mission, so we had to leave without him." Kakashi replied.

"That Dobe? Help at the academy?" Sasuke smirked to himself after that comment.

"Naruto is helping out. Not teaching the classes." Kakashi replied. He did wonder how that happened however. After all, Naruto had been the dead last of his class.

The group suddenly found themselves under attack. A group of ninja with fox heads engraved into their forehead protectors aimed kunai and various other projectiles at them.

"We're being forced somewhere." Kakashi said. He looked annoyed (well as annoyed as he could look with a mask covering half of his face) as they tried to get out of whatever trap they were being forced into. They realised that they were in front of the Kitsune temple. They saw an old woman standing there waiting.

"Hello there. You must be team seven. Missing someone?" The old lady asked.

"Tell your ninja to back off. They tried to kill us." Kakashi asked politely enough.

"Oh well that's my fault. You see there are a lot of things you don't seem to realise about your teammate. I have decided, as it's in my area to do so, that you three need to learn some lessons." The old woman said. She let out a friendly laugh.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. She was as confused as her other team mates.

"You'll see dear." The old woman replied. That was when everything went black for the three ninjas.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

When the three woke up they figured out three things. One was that from the looks of things, they were back in Konoha. The scenery showed that. Two was that they were moving at a fast pace. Three was that they were being _cradled?_ Other things were coming to their attention. They were smaller _somehow_ and were being carried by the Kitsune temple priestess and two of her ninja. They tried to move, but it was difficult. Nothing felt right to them. They landed in front of a familiar door.

"_This is Naruto's apartment!"_ They all thought to themselves. That was when they were placed onto the floor. For the first time all three Shinobi were getting a look at themselves since this started. Sakura looked down at her hands, to see pink paws. Her eyes went wide, and she let out a shriek that sounded like a cat meowing to anyone else. She looked over to Kakashi and Sasuke, only to see a silver and black pair of cats staring at her.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura?" The silver one asked. He sounded like Kakashi.

"Yeah, are you Kakashi-Sensei?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes. Sasuke?" Kakashi called out. The black cat looked at them.

"Hn." Sasuke sounded out. It came from the black cat. The three looked at the priestess. Her ninja had left.

"You three are going to learn a few things. Don't worry my jutsu will wear off eventually. Once all of you have learned what you needed to learn you will regain human form. Until then, you will remain in the forms of cats. Have fun!" The old priestess said cheerfully. Then she too, disappeared into the night and left the three cats waiting for someone.

Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were looking around.

"So where are we again?" Kakashi asked.

"Outside Naruto's apartment Kakashi-Sensei! Haven't you ever been to Naruto's apartment before?" Sakura asked.

"I usually visit by climbing through the window into his kitchen, where I attempt to force vegetables down his throat." Kakashi stated. Kakashi was looking down at his silver fur, scrutinising his new body. Then he dropped onto the stone floor and started crying.

"I have no Icha Icha! How will I survive without it?" Kakashi bawled. To most humans it would have sounded like

"Meeeeeooooow meow meowmeow mrou mroumeow mroumrou meow."

Sakura and Sasuke stared at Kakashi, wondering what the heck they were going to do. That was when they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They looked out to see who was coming, only to see the blue-eyed blond, Naruto Uzumaki. He was carrying a small bag of groceries and looked a little unhappy.

"I wonder why he looks unhappy." Sakura said softly. It came out as a soft mew.

"Iruka probably didn't buy him any ramen." Sasuke said, snickering inwardly.

"Be nice to him, because I don't think any of us want to be sleeping on the streets in winter now." Kakashi stated.

"Sasuke, remember he hates being scratched so don't scratch him." Sakura stated. They had taken their lesson of chasing after Torah the cat very well.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto heard some meowing and looked around on the floor. He saw three cats sitting outside his apartment. He took note that one of them was silver and a fair bit bigger than the other two. The other two looked rather small, even though Naruto could tell they weren't kittens. They all looked lean, and defensive. Naruto looked at them carefully.

"Hi there." Naruto said warily. The cats looked up at him as though they were listening to what he said. Naruto grinned at them.

"Where did you three come from? Where are your owners?" Naruto asked. The cats stared at him blankly.

"I really shouldn't be talking to cats." Naruto stated. The three cats meowed at each other, almost as though communicating, and then the pink cat walked up to Naruto and rubbed against his leg slightly.

"Are you guys strays?" Naruto asked. Naruto picked up the pink cat carefully.

"You guys don't have anyone either?" Naruto asked. He looked at the cats and gave a soft smile.

"Okay you guys can come into my place. But I warn you I never have that much to eat." Naruto said cheerfully. He put the pink cat down on the floor, and opened his apartment door. The three cats looked at Naruto, and then went in to his apartment. It was surprisingly easy to get Naruto to trust them. Now all they had to do was learn the lesson that this priestess seemed to want them to learn, and they'd get to turn back into human beings. If only things were that easy.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay that's the first chapter. I hope you liked it. It's just a weird idea I got. Anyways, please R&R and let me know what you think. I'll be updating soon.


	2. You Learn Something New Every Day

Okay here's chapter two of Team Cat-kashi. Hope you all like it.

To my anonymous reviewer, narutofan, thanks for the review. I'm glad you like it so far.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-kashi!

Chapter Two – You Learn Something New Every Day.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi walked into the apartment. Sakura sniffed around.

"It doesn't smell bad, or look too messy. Naruto must keep it clean." Sakura stated. Sasuke and Kakashi didn't say anything. The trio watched Naruto walk into the apartment and close the door. He went to the fridge. He looked inside and smiled.

"Okay you three, I've got some fresh milk and some stew that Iruka-Sensei gave me. So I guess you guys are sharing dinner with me." Naruto said kindly. The three watched as Naruto put the food on the stove and started heating it. Then there was a knock at the door. Naruto's eyes were wide.

"What's wrong with him?" Kakashi asked. Before the three could even meow, Naruto picked them all up and put them in his bedroom. He placed them on the bed and threw the covers over them.

"You guys have to stay quiet and not move. That's my landlord and if he sees you he'll kill you. He killed my last pet. So just stay there." Naruto whispered. The banging happened again and Naruto ran out of the room.

"Wow! What's his problem?" Sasuke hissed.

"Be quiet and we might find out." Kakashi stated. The trio listened out as a situation took place.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto opened the door to his landlord. A fat drunk who hated him as much as most people. The man glared at Naruto evilly.

"I heard cats meowing up here demon!" He hissed out.

"I don't like cats. Why would there be cats in here?" Naruto asked. The landlord punched the boy in the face.

"Don't get smart with me, Kyubi brat, I heard cats up here earlier. I don't care if one of your 'comrades' gave you a present. If I catch an animal up here, I promise you, you filthy little monster, that I'll kill it like I did the last one you bought home!" The landlord yelled. Naruto didn't say a word. The landlord gave Naruto a kick for good measure and left.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto's landlord smacked him and he didn't fight back?" Sakura asked. Kakashi felt disturbed.

"Why did that guy call Naruto a demon and a monster?" Sakura asked.

"And Kyubi brat. Don't forget that one." Sasuke asked. That was when Naruto came back into the room, and uncovered them. He had a black eye and he looked miserable.

"I'm sorry you guys had to hear that. What am I saying? You guys care about as much as my teammates do. I'm being stupid talking to a bunch of cats." Naruto stated. He made to leave the room, but surprisingly, Sasuke got up and nudged Naruto's hand before he got out of the vicinity of the bed. Naruto sighed and looked down at Sasuke. Naruto stroked him behind the ears and sat down on his bed. Sakura and Kakashi sat either side of him, and Sasuke sat in front of him.

"I wish I was lucky you know." Naruto said softly. The trio listened intently.

"Sakura has her parents, Kakashi-Sensei gets respected by everyone, and Sasuke..." Naruto trailed for a second.

"Sasuke is adored and worshipped by everyone. Everyone thinks he's great. He's alone like me, but the whole village loves him. They hate me. I suppose it's because the Kyubi was sealed inside of me when I was born. It could be other things. Maybe I just wasn't good enough. I work hard. I work so hard that my hands bleed and my whole body aches, but everyone still thinks that Sasuke is the best. Maybe I am the loser that everyone thinks I am, but I don't care, because one day all the hard work I put in will pay off. I'll be the best I can be, and it won't be because of my family name, it'll be because of my hard work." Naruto said softly. Naruto got up and Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi stared at Naruto.

"I'll tell you guys a secret. I respect Sasuke too. Even if he is a jerk, I still respect him. One day I'll be able to fight Sasuke in a fair fight and win. That's the second thing I aspire to, apart from becoming Hokage. One day, Sasuke will have to say I'm his equal." Naruto said cheerfully.

He left the room then. The trio stared at each other. Sasuke looked confused.

"I never knew he thought like that." Sasuke said softly.

"Well he obviously does Sasuke. He wouldn't say it if he didn't." Kakashi replied. Sasuke looked down at his black paws. Sakura looked down at her own pink paws.

"How come nobody told us that Naruto had the Kyubi sealed inside of him?" Sakura asked.

"Does that bother you Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"No. I mean just because you put a cookie in a tin doesn't make the tin a cookie, right?" Sakura replied.

"Then why does it bother you that you weren't told?" Kakashi asked.

"Because he deserved better treatment from all of us. I mean he's a hero. If the Kyubi wasn't sealed inside him then we'd have to deal with it right? The village would be gone." Sakura replied.

"That's true. But most people didn't think that way at the time. They still don't think that way now. Why do you think Naruto lives in an apartment on the bad side of town? Why do you think his landlord hates him so much?" Kakashi questioned.

"I don't know." Sakura said softly.

"It's not fair." Sasuke said. The other two stared at him.

"He doesn't deserve this. I mean... he's a nice person... a good person... He thinks we're a bunch of stray cats, and he's taken us in and he wants to feed us and look after us. He wants to keep us safe, and he gets treated like a monster." Sasuke explained. Sakura and Kakashi looked at him sadly. Kakashi sighed sadly.

"I didn't know it'd gotten this bad. When Sandaime was alive he kept everything in check, but Tsunade doesn't know what's going on. Naruto wouldn't tell her either." Kakashi stated.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Because he doesn't want to cause her any trouble. He cares about Tsunade, as though she were family to him. Once he cares about someone, he doesn't stop. He's a good kid." Kakashi replied softly.

"So people have been treating him like this for how long Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.

"Ever since his birth, that's when the Kyubi was sealed inside of him. I was still in Anbu when Naruto was a baby. It wasn't pleasant. Plenty of his caretakers tried to poison him. He had a few touch and go points where some succeeded. He was lucky to be a tough baby. The orphanage threw him out when he was six. He had to look after himself. I remember seeing plenty of shop owners rejecting his custom. Why do you think I'm always trying to bring him vegetables?" Kakashi told them honestly.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Kakashi sadly.

"Why didn't we know?" Sakura asked.

"Because the law is that no one was supposed to talk about it. No child does know that Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi. It's something I must ask you not to talk about when we finally manage to become human again. It's an S class secret." Kakashi replied. That was when Naruto came back into the room.

"Come on you guys, let's eat." Naruto said cheerfully. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi jumped down from the bed and followed Naruto. Once they got into the kitchen, Naruto lifted them up on the table one by one. He put little dishes in front of them, with warm stew waiting. The three felt their stomachs growling.

"Why didn't he just leave us on the floor?" Sakura asked. Almost as if Naruto had read her mind, he answered.

"I was made to eat on the floor once. One of my caretakers made me eat dog food on the floor. I can't even remember if they gave me a dish or not. I just remember how awful it tasted and how rotten I felt being made to eat on the floor, while they ate at the table. If I didn't like it, I don't see why I should force you guys to eat on the floor. It's not a great experience." Naruto said softly. The three stared at Naruto curiously.

"Come on you guys. Eat up. Iruka-Sensei makes great stew." Naruto said cheerfully. He started eating, and the trio followed suit, eating out of their dishes, as cats would. Surprisingly, the trio found themselves very full. Naruto washed the dishes after they'd finished eating, and then put some milk in the three small dishes. He placed them down on the ground, while the group stared at him. He lifted them down gently and showed them the milk.

"Drink up you guys. It's actually fresh for once. Usually they try to sell me bad milk. But Iruka-Sensei was with me today so they didn't act weird." Naruto said happily. The trio found themselves drinking the milk they'd been given. Call it cat nature if you will. Naruto looked happy enough, as he washed up the dishes.

The group watched Naruto go about his routine. He dried and put away the clean dishes, went to have a shower, and then, in his usual blue pyjamas and green beaver cap, he washed up the empty milk bowls, and placed water in them.

"If you guys need something to drink, you've got something." Naruto said happily, as he picked up a small watering can. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi watched as Naruto watered three plants on the windowsill. When he'd finished, he placed the watering can in a cupboard under the sink.

"Come on you guys, I don't have a basket for you to sleep in, so you're gonna have to sleep on my bed with me. But it's an okay bed, better than some of the places you guys musta slept in." Naruto stated cheerfully. He walked into his room, and Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi followed. Naruto climbed under his covers, and then lifted the three cats, one by one, to sit on his bed. They watched as he made himself comfortable. He looked at them and grinned.

"Just make yourselves comfortable okay? Goodnight cats. I'm gonna have to think of names for you guys tomorrow." Naruto said kindly. He rested his head on the pillow, and soon Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke could hear his soft, rhythmic breathing, that signalled sleep.

"Why is he so nice all the time?" Sakura asked.

"I wouldn't be able to be nice, like he is, if people treated me the way they do him." Sasuke added.

"Maybe that's something we're meant to find out Sasuke." Kakashi said. "For now, we'd better get some sleep. Naruto seems to be way ahead of us." Kakashi added. Sasuke smirked, and Sakura smiled. Well, as much as cats can do either, and soon, the three cats were also in the land of dreams.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next day, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi followed Naruto around. They watched him be rejected from shops, and how the villagers generally reacted to him. It wasn't pleasant seeing an old woman throw a rotten tomato at Naruto's head. Naruto never once yelled, screamed or cried. He took it all calmly and just carried on.

"He's a damn martyr." Sasuke cursed when they saw Naruto being yelled at when he tried to buy some fruit from a fruit stall in the market.

"I wish he'd just... act like himself and stand up for himself at least." Sakura said sadly.

"He's not reacting for a reason Sakura." Kakashi replied. Sasuke and Sakura looked at Kakashi, waiting expectantly for a reply. "If he reacts, and he throws things back at people, or attacks them as they do him, what does that prove?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke and Sakura weren't quite sure what Kakashi was getting at. "It just proves them right. It means that Naruto is sinking to their level and Naruto is far too proud to do that. So he doesn't react. After all, if he can take the abuse of the villagers, then maybe one day he will earn their respect." Kakashi told them. Sasuke and Sakura nodded sadly.

"That doesn't make it right." Sasuke stated.

"I never said it did, Sasuke. But Naruto is doing the best he can." Kakashi replied. The group carried on following Naruto that day, trying to find out what they were supposed to be learning, so they could get back to being humans again. After all, once they were human, they could look out for their blonde teammate.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, that's it for this chapter. It's short, but I wanted to give you guys an update. I am not getting as much time to myself as I would like as I'm in my third year of my bachelor's degree and University. But I will try to make a longer chapter over Christmas. I promise to at least update again as soon as I can. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, please R&R and let me know what you think.


	3. True Bravery

Okay here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and added me to their faves and alert lists. Here are some review replies because at one point the review reply links weren't working, so I couldn't reply to some people.

**ADeadBlackRose**: Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it. Yeah I know, poor Naruto. I seem to enjoy torturing him in my fics. (nods) I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

**starcrossedmoon**: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you find it interesting so far, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

**deets1**: Thanks for the review. But what the heck is a woobie? I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**narutofan**: Thanks loads for the review. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**The True Kitsune-Hime**: I'm glad you like it so far and I hope that you enjoy this chapter too. Thanks loads for taking the time to review me.

**Toonfanatic5**: Thanks for reviewing. I have to admit I haven't been keeping up with Shippuuden recently, because I've had way too much work to do for University. But that's what the summer hols are for. LOL! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Sprig: Thanks for reviewing. As for Naruto's reaction to them knowing his secrets, well... there is no guarantee that they will tell Naruto what they learned at all. Just a thought to leave you with there. LOL!

**Always-Unpredictable**: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like the fic so far, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

**xenawp532**: Thanks for the review. I hope you like this chapter.

**hello**: Thanks loads for the review. I'm glad you think that there aren't many fics like this one. It's kind of what I was aiming for. (nods) I hope you enjoy the update.

**nia**: Thanks loads for reviewing and I'm glad you like my fics. I hope you enjoy this update. Oh and I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for updates. I've been swamped with University coursework so I've had no real time to update. I feel quite bad about it.

Okay, on with the next chapter.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-Kashi!

Chapter Three – True Bravery

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It had been over a week since Team Seven had set out on their mission without Naruto. Naruto woke up early that morning. He gave all three of the cats an affectionate stroke and then went into the kitchen and started to make some ramen for breakfast. He also looked at his milk. He grinned as he noted the milk was still in date. He put some in a pot and started warming it up. It was a cold day today. Naruto sighed as he realised it was his birthday in three days. He'd had the cats for over a week. He still hadn't gotten round to naming them.

"_My team will be back tomorrow."_ Naruto thought to himself. However he knew they wouldn't remember his birthday. After all, who remembers that Naruto has a birthday when it's the day of the Kyubi's defeat? There was always a festival on Naruto's birthday that he wasn't allowed to go to. Naruto sighed to himself, as he saw the cats meander into the kitchen, yawning.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi all woke up on Naruto's bed. The three made their way in to Naruto's kitchen. They saw Naruto staring sadly at the stove. He gave them a friendly smile as he poured some milk into small dishes for them.

"Hey guys. I warmed up the milk for you. It's cold today." Naruto said cheerfully. Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura couldn't help but feel a little grateful. It was cold and the three noticed that there was no heating in Naruto's apartment.

"I've got to go to Sasuke's house today. He asked me to go and water his plants while he was gone. I usually go earlier but it's really cold today so I thought I'd wait until there's actual daylight." Naruto stated. He sat and ate his ramen cheerfully while the trio drank their warm milk.

After Naruto had finished eating his breakfast, he went to go and take a shower. They heard some loud cursing a few minutes later.

"Damn they turned off the hot water again!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke and Sakura sighed. They looked at Kakashi.

"I can't believe that there's no heating in this place." Sasuke stated.

"Of course you can't Sasuke. You've had heating in your home your whole life. I would suppose you've always had hot water too." Kakashi replied. Sasuke looked down at the floor sheepishly.

"Well there is plenty to tell Tsunade when we actually get back to being human." Kakashi added.

"They treat Naruto like he's not even a person." Sakura said sadly.

"When did you ask Naruto to go and water your plants?" Kakashi asked Sasuke.

"Just before we left. I found out he wasn't going to be on the mission so I asked him. Better him then a fangirl sneaking through my house." Sasuke replied. Soon Naruto came out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around his waist. The trio took note that Naruto was shivering.

"Well if I get moving I probably won't be as cold." Naruto stated cheerfully, but the trio could still hear his teeth chattering as he went off into his room to get dressed.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

That day, Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke followed Naruto around as they usually did. They followed him to Sasuke's house and watched as he walked in. He took off his shoes at the door and went to find the watering can. Sasuke was quite surprised.

"He actually remembered what I said?" Sasuke questioned.

"What did you say to him?" Sakura asked.

"I wasn't even sure he was listening to me, and I told him where the watering can was and which plants need how much water. I guess he does listen when you tell him stuff." Sasuke said softly. Sakura didn't make another comment as they watched Naruto from the window.

Naruto watered the plants, just as he had promised. Suddenly, he seemed frozen in place. Sasuke watched Naruto pick up a picture that was in a frame. Sasuke glared slightly.

"That's a picture of my parents, my brother and I." Sasuke stated to Sakura and Kakashi. All three of them were shocked when Tsunade suddenly appeared in the room.

Naruto jumped and just saved the picture from falling to the ground. He placed the picture gently down, exactly where he had found it and looked at Tsunade.

"Hey Baa-Chan." Naruto said softly.

"Well I knew you would be here. I know that the mission is taking longer then you thought it would Naruto. But you know that Kakashi is a Jonin and he will look after Sasuke and Sakura. They'll get back here just fine." Tsunade said.

"I know that. It's just..." Naruto trailed off. He stared at the picture.

"They're Sasuke's Mother and Father, and brother, right?" Naruto asked, pointing at the picture. Tsunade nodded.

"Sasuke looks a lot more like his Mom then he does his dad. His older brother looks a lot like their father." Naruto replied.

"He does I guess." Tsunade quipped.

"I don't have one picture of my parents." Naruto said sadly. "I don't even know who they were, what they looked like, or even what kind of people they were. For all I know they just dropped me on the Fourth's doorstep that night and that's why he chose to seal Kyubi into me." Naruto added. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi felt their stomachs drop. Tsunade hugged the blond.

"Wherever and whoever they were. They would be so proud of you." Tsunade said sadly. Naruto nodded, not really knowing what else to say.

"Do you know anything about my parents Baa-Chan? Aren't there files about them?" Naruto asked.

"I... I'll... I'll try and find out Naruto." Tsunade said gently. Naruto nodded and glanced at the photo on the table. "Naruto I know the festival is in a couple of days. I wanted you to come and stay with me, or with Iruka. You could even go on a training mission with Jiraiya." Tsunade stated. Naruto shook his head.

"I don't run away Baa-Chan." Naruto replied. Naruto went to walk away out of the house.

"Naruto it's your birthday. You don't deserve all that pain on your birthday." Tsunade called after him. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke all shuddered at the look they saw cross Naruto's face, and the answer he gave Tsunade.

"The villagers wish I'd never been born. Sometimes I wonder if they're right." Naruto said softly. Then he was gone. He missed the tear that trailed down Tsunade's cheek, but the trio watching outside didn't.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay, I know, this was a super short chapter and I know it's all angsty and stuff, but I really wanted to update for you guys, seeing as I've made you all wait so long. University has sucked the life out of me. LOL! Although seriously I'm swamped by coursework. Anywho, please R&R and tell me what you all think. I always appreciate it.


	4. Secrets Secrets Everywhere!

Okay, so here is the next chapter of Team Cat-kashi! I hope you all like it. I know I've been making Naruto a damn angsty little freak, and I've made him a little defeatist, but I'm sorta trying to give the impression that Naruto does hide a lot of stuff from his friends. Tsunade is like family (although the fact that in the Manga, everything says that the pair are, at least distantly, related) so he'd talk to her honestly. Anywho, on with this chapter. Hopefully you'll all like it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-kashi!

Chapter Four – Secrets, Secrets Everywhere, and No One Wants To Tell.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura found themselves thinking carefully about what to do when they regained human form. Naruto needed help and care, not hatred and anger.

"Do you know anything about Naruto's parents Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked. Kakashi looked away from his two cat students.

"You do don't you Kakashi. You know about Naruto's parents." Sasuke commented.

"I knew them both. They were killed the night the Kyubi attacked the village." Kakashi replied honestly.

"So what? The Yondaime thought 'Great! This kid doesn't have any family now, so let's seal a great freaking fox demon inside him and leave him to handle all the hate of the village alone' is that it Kakashi?" Sasuke asked angrily. Watching over Naruto had given Sasuke a new view of his teammate. Sasuke could barely admit to how much he cared about his teammates, but he'd decided that the first thing he was going to do when he was human again was get Naruto to move into the Uchiha house with him. He had the space, and no one dared to refuse an Uchiha service, or good food. At least Sasuke knew that Naruto would eat, have running hot water and have somewhere warm to sleep. Kakashi sighed sadly as he looked at his two students. Could he tell them the truth about Naruto's situation? Could he tell them about Naruto's parents before Naruto even knew himself.

"It wasn't like that Sasuke. There are a lot of things you don't know. It's not fair for me to tell you about Naruto's parents before he even knows himself. Once we're humans again, I will talk to Tsunade about disclosing the details of Naruto's parentage to him. He has a right to know and it seems that he really needs to know." Kakashi replied. Sasuke and Sakura didn't ask any more questions after that, both deciding that Kakashi was right. After all, Naruto should be the first one to know about his own parents.

"I think we shouldn't just follow Naruto around all the time." Sakura said suddenly. They were watching Naruto help out at the academy again. The Konohamaru Corps were chasing Naruto around in their box shaped rock camouflage and Naruto was pretending not to notice them. It seemed Naruto was more sensitive to the feelings of others then anyone ever gave him credit for. Sakura had always thought Naruto to be tactless and thoughtless, but this time spent watching over him had proved her wrong.

"What do you mean Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"I mean, we want to learn more about Naruto, so maybe we should be watching over the people he cares about too. I mean, we've been watching him all this time, so maybe we'll learn more by watching other people too. Like Iruka-Sensei and Tsunade-Sama." Sakura replied. Before Kakashi could even consider putting his two students off of this idea, Sasuke nodded his agreement.

"I agree. If we're lucky, we'll be human again before the festival starts. So we'll go and watch Tsunade and see what we find out." Sasuke stated. Kakashi sighed as Sasuke and Sakura padded off towards the Hokage's office.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tsunade sighed as she took a sip of her Sake.

"What's wrong Tsunade?" Tsunade looked at the open window to see Jiraiya sitting there. "You called me right?" Jiraiya questioned again. Tsunade nodded.

"Naruto... Naruto seems to be very despondent lately. He was watering Sasuke's plants and..." Tsunade trailed off. Jiraiya waited for her to speak to him and clarify what was worrying her. "He saw a picture of Sasuke's family." Tsunade finally finished. Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly and he nodded with understanding.

"He wants to know about his parents." Jiraiya commented.

"I think that not knowing is causing him more harm than keeping the truth a secret. We kept the secret for his safety Jiraiya, but not knowing the truth is hurting him. He thinks he was abandoned. How can I tell him it's not true if I can't even tell him who his parents were?" Tsunade asked Jiraiya.

"You're right. The council won't like it if you tell him, but Naruto has the right to know. He's been bullied and abused enough throughout his lifetime. He has a right to know who is parents were, and that they loved him." Jiraiya replied.

"So I'll call him here now and-" Tsunade started, but Jiraiya cut her off, shaking his head.

"We'll tell him when Kakashi makes it back. Kakashi was his father's student, he'll want to be here for Naruto, just like we want to be here for the kid. We need to give Naruto the chance to ask questions from those of us that knew his parents well. There aren't so many of them left now." Jiraiya said. Tsunade nodded her understanding.

"How can I tell Naruto that his mother was a Jinchuriki for Kyubi before he was? I don't know how to tell him the whole story." Tsunade said softly.

"Just take it one step at a time." Jiraiya replied. "I'm here to help Tsunade. You know that." He added. Tsunade nodded as she lifted out a file from a drawer in her desk. It was large and extensive. "Naruto's file I'm assuming." Jiraiya commented. Tsunade nodded again as she opened it. She pulled out a picture and showed it to Jiraiya.

"That was taken moments after Naruto was born. I don't know if there is more than one copy of it in the world." Tsunade said. Jiraiya took the picture from Tsunade's hand to see his former student, Minato Namikaze, and Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki. They looked happy, even though Kushina looked exhausted. Naruto was curled into his mother's arms, a sleepy look on his face.

"I have a copy of this photo. I'll make another one." Jiraiya informed Tsunade. Then he left, allowing Tsunade to dwell on her own thoughts a while longer.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"So you were close to Naruto's parents?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

"His father trained you." Sasuke stated.

"Weren't you trained by Yondaime?" Sakura asked. Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other and then at Kakashi. "Naruto is the son of the Yondaime Hokage?" Sakura questioned.

"He looks up to Yondaime, the Yondaime is Naruto's hero. It seems kind of... fitting that he's Naruto's father." Sasuke added. They looked up at the statue of the fourth Hokage, looking for the similarities. They saw them quickly enough. Naruto was almost a mirror image of his father, if they went by hair shape, and colouring. His face was slightly rounder, but of course, Naruto was still young, he still had baby fat to drop before his facial features could truly be discerned between his parents.

"He has his mother's face. He looks very like his father, but he has his mother's face." Kakashi said softly.

"He does?" Sasuke and Sakura asked at the same time.

"Yeah. He really does. He also has her personality and even some of her habits. He never knew her, but he's very like her. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki." Kakashi said sadly.

"Was she kind?" Sakura asked. It seemed a silly question to ask, but it was just something that popped into Sakura's head, when she thought about mothers. Her own mother had been kind to her. If Sakura got sick, her mother took care of her. Some mothers would just tell their children to suck it up and get over it, but Sakura's mother wasn't like that. Sakura couldn't help but feel lucky to have her mother, having seen what Naruto went through having no one to care for him.

"She was kind. Naruto gets his big heart from her. But just as she was kind, she could be cruel to those that hurt the people she loved. She was a strong Kunoichi, and a good person." Kakashi replied.

"And she was the Jinchuriki for Kyubi before Naruto was." Sasuke said.

"Again, I would have to ask you not to reveal this information to anyone else. These are S class secrets of the village. I'm trusting you two to keep them." Kakashi replied. There was something that Sasuke and Sakura were almost sure that Kakashi wasn't telling them.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

That evening, the trio listened to Naruto talking about what he'd gotten up to at the academy.

"I really hope that Sakura and Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei are alright. It seems like forever since they left. Tsunade says she's gonna look and find out about my parents." Naruto babbled. Then he stopped suddenly, as though a thought went through his mind. He laid down on his bed, and Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke sat on the end, waiting for him to start talking again. "I wonder which one of my parents I look like. Maybe I look like my mother, or maybe I'm a mix of both of them. I wonder if my parents like Ramen, like I do. What do you guys think?" Naruto asked. He smiled gently as Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke all looked at him. "I know you can't answer me, but sometimes I need to just say what I'm thinking, or it just... builds up in my head until I feel like I'm gonna explode. That's the reason I like pulling pranks. It stopped me from just... exploding and telling everyone what I was thinking. Sometimes I really felt like I wanted to just... tell everyone to get lost and leave me alone. Sometimes I really wanted to lash out. But pulling a good prank usually got rid of my frustrations. I really hope that my team gets back in time for the festival. Maybe I can spend the festival with them. They don't know about me. Well, Kakashi does. But that's not a surprise. He is a Jonin, so they probably all know about me being a Jinchuriki." Naruto said. He sat back up and looked at the trio, a smile graced his face. "If they don't get back, maybe I can go and stay at Shikamaru's place. I've done that before. Shikamaru's parents don't hate me, and no one ever goes to the Nara house to cause trouble. But I don't wanna get them into trouble anyways. Maybe Tsunade Baa-Chan is right. Maybe I should go on a special training assignment with Ero-Sennin for the festival. At least the old pervert will just... let me be myself." Naruto said. It was dark now. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi knew it was getting late. Naruto got up and went to the bathroom. The trio knew Naruto was getting ready for bed now. They knew his routine. By the time he came back, dressed in his usual pyjamas, teeth brushed and with his beaver cap on his head, the trio had found comfortable positions to sleep in, that wouldn't disturb Naruto's sleep. Naruto grinned at the trio. He stroked each of them in turn before getting under his covers. The room was cold, and Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were all sleeping under Naruto's covers with him. "Goodnight cats. I always seem to be forgetting to give you guys, names." Naruto said sleepily as he curled up in bed. Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke listened out for Naruto's deep breathing, to indicate he was sleeping before they settled down themselves. They wanted to go back to being human, and they wanted it very soon.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay, so this chapter is longer than the last one. At least I think it is. I know it's not long, but I'm trying to make the story last longer then I intended it to last. LOL! So, please R&R and let me know what you think.


	5. Finally

Okay all, I'm sorry I've made you wait for this chapter for so long. I've been super busy with University and life in general and I've had no time to myself to actually update. So my apologies. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and to those who added me to their faves and alerts lists. I really appreciate it. Replies to anonymous reviews are below.

** .x:** Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the chappie even though it was short and I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint.

**randomKittyX3:** Thanks loads for the review. I am updating. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**randomkitty:** Thanks loads for reviewing. I know, I feel sad for Naruto too. But I'm a mean writer. I always bring angst to my characters. LOL! I hope this chapter isn't disappointing for you.

**narutofan:** I'm glad you liked last chapter and I hope this chapter does not disappoint you.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-Kashi!

Chapter Five – Finally.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The closer it was getting to the festival, the more the trio wanted to be human again. Just yesterday, the trio found they were starting to act more like cats. Sasuke had started to lick his tail, Kakashi had started purring, and Sakura had fallen asleep in the sun as they watched Naruto helping out at the academy again.

"Maybe we should see what Iruka Sensei is doing." Sakura said. She was trying to avoid warm spots on the roof otherwise she knew she would start catnapping again. Kakashi and Sasuke agreed, and the trio snuck into Iruka's classroom.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Iruka was just about to call Naruto into the classroom to have lunch with him when another instructor arrived.

"How can I help you Daikoku-Sensei?" Iruka asked his fellow teacher.

"I've noticed that Naruto kid hanging around the academy a lot." Daikoku replied.

"Yes Tsunade-Sama gave him a mission to help out here while his team are away." Iruka replied.

"Do you think that's wise? Having _him_ around all the children?" Daikoku asked.

"Why shouldn't it be? Who better to help in the academy then a former student who can empathise with them?" Iruka replied. Daikoku didn't look pleased.

"You should really have ignored him. Passing him from the academy wasn't a good idea. Now he's going outside of the village accepting missions when he should really be here where the council and other Shinobi can keep an eye on him." Daikoku stated. Iruka stood from his seat, feeling the anger well up inside of him.

"Naruto has every right to be a Shinobi. Not passing him would have been unfair. He earned his Genin status, as I'm sure he will earn the rank of Chunin and Jonin after that." Iruka replied coldly. Daikoku frowned and left. Iruka then took a moment to calm down before calling to Naruto. He didn't want the boy he saw like a brother to see him angry. Iruka knew Naruto, he'd think it was something he'd done, and Naruto had been extremely helpful whilst at the academy. Naruto came running in, looking cheerful.

"I don't get how Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon don't understand that rocks are round." Naruto said happily as he sat on the other side of Iruka's desk. Iruka handed Naruto a bento, and both started eating.

"You'd make a good teacher Naruto." Iruka told the boy honestly. Naruto grinned.

"Maybe, but I'd be bored if I had to stay in the academy every day. I don't know how you do it Iruka-Sensei." Naruto replied.

"It's what I wanted to do. Just like you want to be Hokage, I wanted to teach the next generation about the Will of Fire, like Sandaime taught me." Iruka told Naruto. Naruto nodded.

"Well I'm glad you became a Sensei. Otherwise no one else would've given me a chance. I'd probably still be here. Even if I got everything perfect, no one else would've ever let me pass. I've heard Daikoku-Sensei saying I never should've been allowed to make Genin. At least you've always been fair to me." Naruto replied. Then Naruto seemed thoughtful for a moment. "When I become a Jonin, maybe I can be a Jonin-Sensei like Kakashi-Sensei and take on my own team. It'd be awesome, I could teach them all sorts of things." Naruto said. Iruka smiled, but inside he felt anger boiling up again. He decided to go and speak to Tsunade about this. Naruto didn't need to hear that no other academy teacher had any faith in him apart from Iruka. It seemed cruel to put Naruto through that.

"How about we go and get some Ramen tonight? My treat?" Iruka said. Naruto's eyes lit up and Iruka grinned at the boy he'd practically adopted.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura and Sasuke both felt the urge to go and scratch at Daikoku-Sensei.

"Why would they want to stop Naruto from graduating so badly?" Sakura asked.

"To stop him leaving the village. It's all about the Kyubi Sakura." Sasuke said sadly.

"But Naruto's dream is to be Hokage. He'd never be able to achieve it if he never left the academy. They'd have made him give up sooner or later. If it wasn't for Iruka-Sensei then Naruto would've never gotten a fair chance." Sakura said. Kakashi nodded.

"I think we've followed Iruka around enough for today." Kakashi said sadly. The trio snuck out of the classroom when Naruto and Iruka left after lunch to go and set up the practise boards for students to have kunai practise.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"So what have we learned so far about Naruto?" Kakashi asked Sasuke and Sakura.

"We've learned that he's the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, that he's treated horribly by the villagers and that no one gives him a fair chance." Sasuke said.

"We've also learned that he has a lot of the qualities that we always thought he lacked. He's got tact, he's kind and he knows how to keep his temper. He keeps his apartment clean and tidy and he owns three plants that he's given names to." Sakura added.

"Probably because the landlord is a bastard that kills his pets so the plants keep him company." Sasuke added.

"And... I've learned Naruto is a lot stronger than me. Not physically, even though he is, but mentally he's stronger than me." Sakura said.

"I agree with Sakura. I always call him stupid, but really he's smarter and stronger then we give him credit for. He's our equal." Sasuke finished.

"Finally!" The trio looked to see the Priestess of the Kitsune temple grinning down at them before everything faded to black again.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

When the trio woke up, they were just outside Konoha. They also noted they were back to their normal human forms.

"You've finally learned what you needed to learn." The trio looked at the Priestess warily.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"You've learned that Naruto isn't just someone to be pitied." The Priestess replied.

"That's what we're supposed to have learned this whole time?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. You three are Naruto's teammates and you're supposed to be his friends, but you've always based every gesture on the idea that your friend isn't smart, or patient or strong. You've finally realised that Naruto is your equal and deserving of your respect, not just your pity." The Priestess replied.

"So now what?" Sakura said.

"Now we go back to the village and make things right for Naruto." Sasuke said. Kakashi looked thoughtful.

"Naruto is going to miss our cat forms." Kakashi said sadly.

"No he isn't." The Priestess said. She handed Kakashi a basket and inside were three cats. Pink, black and grey.

"You put us into the actual bodies of cats?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course. It's not easy to just transform someone into a cat you know. It's far easier to have your minds residing in cat bodies. Less of a drain on my energy." The priestess replied.

"Is that why we started to act like cats?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. Cat nature is a hard thing to fight against. But I'm sure you'll all be fine now you're back in your bodies." The Priestess replied.

"We need to go back to the village and look after Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Good. Be kind to the cats. They're actually very well trained. I'm sure Naruto will think of names for them soon enough. It's up to you if you choose to tell him what you've been doing for the past... two weeks I think? But I'd recommend against it. You wouldn't want to embarrass him by letting him know you saw him at his most vulnerable." The Priestess told them. Then she was gone, before any of them could say another word to her.

"I think we need to go back to the village now. It's been a strange couple of weeks." Sakura said. Kakashi and Sasuke both nodded, agreeing silently, as they headed back towards the gates.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay, so that's where the chapter ends for now. Next chapter some changes are going to be made of course, and the festival happen too. Please R&R and let me know what you think and hopefully I'll be updating soon.


	6. The Return & An Offer

Okay, next chapter here. Thanks loads to everyone who reviewed and added me to their faves and alerts lists. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but life kind of got on top of me and as much as I wanted to update, time hasn't really been on my side. So I apologise. Replies to anonymous reviews are below as they always are.

**randomKittyX3:** Thanks loads for reviewing. Hopefully this next chapter should answer all your questions. As to whether Sasuke will try to lick himself again... we'll see. LOL!

**narutofan:** Thanks loads for reviewing as always. And in answer to your question. No. This story isn't coming to an end. Not for at least another five chapters. There are still plenty of issues that need resolving. So no, this fic isn't ending quite yet.

**Guest:** You reviewed chapter 2, thanks for reviewing. I don't like to drag things out for too long. Also if you want to think in realistic terms, Naruto's off screen/page abuse happened on a regular basis. When we see flashbacks in the Anime, it's rather obvious that Naruto was treated badly every day. But even so, people may have been afraid to pick on Naruto while Kakashi was around. The fact that when the cat versions of team 7 were returned to the village it had been a few days, enough time for anyone who might want to hurt Naruto or throw abuse at him, to feel safe in doing so without retribution from the Copy Nin. So I suppose I'm trying to be realistic in a sense of time and attitude.

**Guest:** You reviewed chapter 3, I don't know if you're the same person who reviewed chapter 2, so I thought I'd give a separate reply. This fic was always going to be angsty. However, the angst is only one part of the story. It's not all about angst, it's about team 7 learning that Naruto is actually not what he makes himself out to be all the time. To be honest, it's an idea that I firmly believe in about all people. I believe that every single person has 5 dfferent aspects they show. One persona for friends, one for family, one for public and formal gatherings, one for authority figures, and one for when they're alone. Each persona is similar, except the one you keep to yourself. I could be wrong, but that's my belief and I like to portray that when I write. (nods)

** .x:** Thanks loads for reviewing. I'm glad you like the story so far, and hopefully this chapter will not disappoint.

** :** Thanks for reviewing, but peanuts are most definitely nuts. I've personally checked. In fact if you pick up a bag of peanuts, it says on the back, May Contain Nuts, although that is a pointless comment to place on the back of a bag of nuts. LOL!

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-Kashi!

Chapter Six – The Return & An Offer.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi decided to go back to the village sneakily. It was evening when they arrived near Naruto's apartment. The trio arrived, sneaking into Naruto's apartment and putting the cats down. They went straight to the dish Naruto had set up and started drinking milk. They heard footsteps outside and then yelling. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi all glared as they realised it was Naruto's landlord yelling at him again. This was the moment they decided to make themselves known.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto had just arrived outside his apartment when the landlord appeared from out of nowhere.

"Demon brat! I want my rent!" The man exclaimed angrily.

"I only paid you two weeks ago. I don't owe you any rent for at least another two weeks." Naruto replied. The landlord was about to punch him when a hand grabbed his wrist. Naruto recognised the hand even without looking at the rest of the person. Kakashi was stood there with Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto couldn't help feeling relieved.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Kakashi stated angrily. The landlord looked afraid of Kakashi, as well he might. Sasuke glared.

"I don't think Naruto owes you rent for the next two months at least. That place is an ice box. What happened to your heat Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto blinked.

"He didn't pay his bill, it got turned off." The Landlord stated.

"You liar! I paid my bill! I always pay my bills!" Naruto yelled. He felt a more confident with Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura around. Besides he couldn't let them see that he was afraid, and sad. He didn't want anyone to know how bad it really was. The landlord glared angrily at Naruto. Kakashi pushed the landlord backwards, away from the group.

"I would suggest you turn his heat back on. I can always check if his bills were paid or not and if I find out that you're lying it might be classed as an abuse of your contract with your tenant." Kakashi said calmly, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. The landlord just grunted and left. Naruto looked at his teammates.

"Were you guys waiting in my apartment?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. We thought we'd come and see how you're doing. Didn't realise your place would be like a refrigerator." Sasuke stated. Naruto shrugged.

"Also a few cats were waiting outside. We kinda let them in. They yours?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded.

"Kinda. But that landlord doesn't like animals." Naruto said. They went back into Naruto's apartment and Naruto made a pot of tea. For him it was strange that his teammates should show up at his apartment. Usually Kakashi would come and check on him briefly, but Sasuke and Sakura rarely came to his apartment, if ever. Once he'd made the pot of tea, he poured and handed out cups to his teammates, while the cats jumped up and purred next to Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi. Naruto blinked. "You know I never noticed that those cats are like... well cat versions of you guys. Maybe I should call them Teme, Cherry and Sensei." Naruto stated. Sasuke snorted.

"Dobe. You can't call cats Sensei and Teme." Sasuke said, though he found the situation amusing that Naruto had made some sort of connection between them and the cats.

"Who says I can't. That's what I'm calling them." Naruto replied. That was when the lights went out. Naruto cursed angrily.

"You paid your electricity bill right Naruto?" Kakashi asked. Naruto sighed.

"Of course I paid it. The landlord's probably just..." Naruto trailed off. He wanted to tell the truth, but he found it difficult to say that he was bullied by the landlord because of the fact that he carried Kyubi.

"Your landlord is an asshole, Dobe." Sasuke stated. He picked up Teme, the black cat and scratched under his chin. "You'd be better off staying with me. My place is too big for just one person. Besides, With no heat and no electricity you'll end up sick from cold and bad food and then who am I going to spar with when Kakashi works with Sakura?" Sasuke stated. He wanted to make it sound like an afterthought, but really he wanted Naruto to come and stay at his place. He certainly had the room. Naruto blinked, even in the dark he could tell when Sasuke was serious about something or not.

"You seriously want me to move in with you Sasuke?" Naruto asked. He needed to make sure.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't." Sasuke replied. Naruto didn't know what had bought on such a change, but he felt as though things were finally looking up for him.

"Why not? I mean, like you said, I'll end up sick if I stay here. But..." Naruto thought about the cats then.

"The cats can come too. Did you know the Uchiha clan's summons are ninja cats?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"No. Really? Your clan had special summons?" Naruto asked. Sasuke smirked.

"Yeap. Look, grab some stuff and we'll all go to my place. We can come back and get the rest of your stuff tomorrow when there's light." Sasuke said. Naruto nodded and got up to go and find some of his things. He wasn't sure quite what had happened on their trip, but something had definitely changed about his teammates.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

That night, after Kakashi left Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto at the Uchiha compound, he went straight to the Hokage Tower. Even if they chose not to tell Naruto about their time as cats, one person needed to know, and that was Tsunade. Once Kakashi had made his report, he waited for Tsunade to say something. The female member of the Sannin rested her chin on her hands as she seemed to gather her thoughts.

"You think it's time we told Naruto the truth of his parentage?" Tsunade asked Kakashi. Kakashi nodded.

"It's doing more harm than good to keep it from him." Kakashi told her.

"And Sasuke has offered for Naruto to live in the Uchiha compound?" Tsunade asked.

"Flat out demanded it in Sasuke terms. Naruto is there right now." Kakashi replied. Tsunade nodded.

"They might be good for each other. It's no good for kids to be alone all the time like those two have been. Go and get some sleep. Bring Naruto here tomorrow morning. If you all tell him about this... incident as cats, you could bring Sasuke and Sakura as well. One thing I've learned about Naruto is he prefers the truth to lies. So I'd suggest talking to him about it." Tsunade said.

"The priestess said it might be a bad idea." Kakashi said.

"Well that might be another test. If Naruto is an equal, he deserves to know what you know." Tsunade stated firmly. Kakashi nodded, he knew she was right. Kakashi decided that they would all talk to Naruto in the morning. Kakashi felt almost a little sorry for Naruto. He was going to get a huge amount of information all in one go tomorrow. Hopefully he would be able to handle it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, I know this was rather a short update, but hopefully next chapter will be up soon. I wanna try and make this fic at least ten chapters so I shortened this chapter. Next chapter will have Naruto learning about his heritage. So stay tuned till next time. Please R&R and let me know what you think.


	7. Silences Broken

I just feel like asking if anyone went to watch "The Great Gatsby" starring Leonardo DiCaprio at the cinema. I did with my 'sister from another mister' BF and not only was it quite epic, the soundtrack was just banging! Like it was so awesome. Search it out on youtube. (nods) Feel free to comment.

Okay all, here're the next chapter. I hope you all like it. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and to those people who added me to their faves and alert lists. I'm very grateful. Replies to anonymous reviews are below.

**Guest:** Thanks so much for reviewing. I know I gave the cats weird names. I have two cats. One called Xena (like Xena Warrior Princess, my whole family insisted) and Coco (like hot chocolate powder) because she looks like she got sprinkled with chocolate. Coco is a phsyco though. Anywho, I'm glad you like how I've portrayed Sasuke and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**narutofan:** Thanks so much for reviewing. I hope that Naruto's reaction doesn't disappoint.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-Kashi!

Chapter Seven – Silences Broken.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

When Naruto woke up the next day, he didn't recognise where he was for a moment before it hit him. He was in Sasuke's house. Sasuke had asked Naruto to come and live with him. It felt rather surreal. He shook himself awake and went to the bathroom, once he'd washed his face he noticed that he didn't seem so unhappy. At least to himself. He knew most people had no idea that he was unhappy. He went downstairs to find Sasuke eating a tomato, and frowned.

"Sasuke, you can't eat that for breakfast." Naruto stated. Sasuke gave Naruto a look.

"It's what I always eat for breakfast." Sasuke replied. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke, if you eat tomatoes for breakfast then you won't have the energy you need for the rest of the day. You should at least eat some oatmeal or something." Naruto told his teammate before looking for the bread. He made himself some toast and then offered Sasuke some. Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a piece, which made Naruto grin. He never thought he'd see the day where Sasuke took his dietary advice.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kakashi was making his way to the Uchiha compound when he bumped into Sakura. She had a little paper bag in one hand.

"What you got there Sakura?" Kakashi asked. Sakura smiled.

"Collars for the cats. I figured it was only fair seeing as we were living in their bodies for two weeks." Sakura said bluntly. Kakashi laughed as he ruffled the girl's hair. Sakura squealed loudly and jumped out of the way. "Don't do that Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura yelled angrily, which just made Kakashi laugh more. When the pair finally made it to the Uchiha compound they found Sasuke and Naruto opening the door to leave.

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei! Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called out cheerfully.

"We were just about to go and spar." Sasuke stated. Kakashi nodded his understanding.

"Before you do that, it's time we all had a chat." Kakashi said. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked at Kakashi in confusion as Kakashi herded them inside, where he immediately told them to take a seat. "Naruto I'm going to tell you where we've been for the last couple of weeks and why it took us so long to get back." Kakashi stated. Sasuke and Sakura both felt worry but they also knew Kakashi was making the right decision. Naruto had a right to know, this had all been about him after all, and if they were going to treat him as their equal, which was what he deserved, then he had a right to know exactly what had happened beforehand.

"You went on a mission to Demon Country for the Priestess of the Kitsune Temple." Naruto said, as though there were no more to it than that. Kakashi nodded.

"We did indeed, but the mission was more complicated than that." Kakashi replied. "We were placed into the bodies of three cats with a jutsu. While we were in the bodies of these cats, we were to find out more about someone. That someone was you." Kakashi said softly. Naruto looked at the three cats who had just wandered into the room.

"So you were... all the time I was looking after those cats... they were you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Kakashi replied. Naruto felt rather embarrassed. He wasn't sure what to say. He felt like he had become a burden to his teammates without ever meaning to.

"Is that why you asked me to come and live with you Sasuke? Because you feel sorry for me?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"No. I didn't ask you to come and live with me because I feel sorry for you. I asked you to come and live with me because I respect you, because you are my teammate and my friend though I never really say it, and because that bastard landlord treats you like dirt and you deserve better than that." Sasuke replied. Naruto took a deep breath and looked at Kakashi again.

"So you guys know... about the Kyubi..." Naruto trailed off.

"We know." Sakura answered. "And we don't think any less of you." Sakura added. Naruto gulped.

"What do you think?" Naruto asked.

"That you're a hero Naruto. If it wasn't for you the Fourth Hokage wouldn't have had anyone to seal Kyubi into and we'd all be dead. Don't forget that Naruto." Sakura replied. They all sat in silence for a moment, Naruto digesting the information he'd been given, before Kakashi interrupted the silence.

"We need to go and see Tsunade." Kakashi stated.

"Why? I thought you guys were getting a break after this mission?" Naruto asked.

"Because Naruto it's time you learned about your heritage." Kakashi said ominously.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Once Team Seven had made it to the Hokage Tower, Naruto looked at the building wondering if he really wanted to know the truth. He didn't know what he was going to hear, he didn't know if it would be good or bad or how he was going to feel afterwards. It scared him in more ways than he was willing to admit to himself. He felt a hand squeeze his and he looked at Sakura.

"It's going to be alright Naruto. No matter what you hear, we will be here for you. We're your teammates, so let us support you." Sakura said.

"You already know what I'm going to hear don't you." Naruto said, resigned to the fact that his team knew about his parentage before he did.

"We overheard Tsunade and Jiraiya discussing it. We weren't supposed to." Sasuke replied. Naruto took a deep breath and the team walked into the building and to Tsunade's office. When they got there, they realised that Jiraiya was sat on the window sill when they walked in. Naruto grinned at Jiraiya.

"Hi Ero-Sennin!" Naruto yelled cheerfully. Jiraiya rolled his eyes, refusing to comment for the millionth time that Naruto should _not_ call him Ero-Sennin. Sasuke simply smirked thinking the nickname was perfect for the old Sannin. Kakashi was silent and Sakura wasn't sure if she should speak or not. Tsunade rolled her eyes and looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, I'll get to the point because I know this isn't going to be easy no matter what way I put it." Tsunade started. Naruto waited patiently. "You asked me about your parents the other day and you were right. You have a right to know who they are. The council are not happy with me for deciding to give you this information, but I believe it is for the best for you to know it now." Tsunade continued. Naruto carried on waiting, trying not to push Tsunade. Despite what many people thought, Naruto was smart enough to see that Tsunade wasn't comfortable with having to break this news to him, and while he was worried about what he was going to hear, he also knew that Tsunade was worried about him. How he would take the information, how he would react, what he would say. All of these things were factors and Naruto could practically see the cogs turning in Tsunade's head as she carried on. "Your mother was a Kunoichi born in the Uzushio Shinobi village, her name was Kushina Uzumaki, and she was bought to this village when she was a young child to be the container of the Kyubi after it's container at the time, my grandmother, Mito Uzumaki-Senju, was dead. She grew up here and when the time came that my grandmother did die, Kushina became the Jinchuriki for Kyubi." Tsunade said softly. Naruto took a deep breath.

"So my mother is related to you Tsunade Baa-Chan?" Naruto asked.

"In a way we're distantly related, yes Naruto." Tsunade replied gently. Naruto nodded his understanding and waited for Tsunade to carry on. "Your parents met when they were in the academy. As they grew older they fell in love, married, and of course, your mother fell pregnant with you." Tsunade said. "There was always a risk factor involved in a Jinchuriki giving birth. It weakens the seal that holds the Bijuu and that can allow the Bijuu to escape their Jinchuriki. When the time came close for you to be born, your mother was taken to a secret location outside the village to give birth to you, just in case the Kyubi did manage to escape. It was supposed to be a precautionary measure." Tsunade carried on.

"But it obviously didn't work." Naruto said sadly.

"No it didn't, but not for the reason you think. A masked man arrived and killed the medics there to attend your birth, including Homura-San's wife. Your father was trying to stop Kyubi escaping your mother. He was a seal master." Tsunade continued.

"A seal master?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. By this point you had been born and this masked man snatched you away. Your father had to make a choice. He could either save your life or stay with your mother, trying to control the Kyubi. Your mother and he decided to save you." Tsunade told Naruto.

"Nobody knows this story." Sasuke uttered.

"No. It is an S class secret. What happened that night has remained behind closed files all this time. No one who was there when it happened ever spoke of it. I only have the information left by Sarutobi-Sama and Naruto's father's hastily written report before his death." Tsunade said. She looked at Naruto, who still seemed confused. "This masked man somehow managed to tear Kyubi from your mother. Somehow she survived the process, but barely. She was suffering, her chakra coils had been destroyed. Had she lived, she could never have stayed a Kunoichi. Her ability to mould chakra would have been nil. But your parents both sacrificed their lives, to seal Kyubi into you. They did this because they believed you were the best person for the job. They did this because you were young enough to survive the process. They did this because they knew that as their son, you would have your mother's exponential, almost limitless chakra reserves, and they hoped you would have your father's battle head. I think I can say you definitely have that." Tsunade said. Naruto felt a sudden realisation hit him.

"Tsunade Baa-Chan? You said my parents sealed the Kyubi inside me? What was my father's name?" Naruto asked. Tsunade sighed.

"Your father's name was Minato Namikaze. He was the Yondaime Hokage." Tsunade said. Naruto clenched his fists, his nails bit into his palms, and Naruto felt the unmistakable urge to yell and scream. He felt betrayed. His parents had died, abandoned him, and what was worse, they chose to seal Kyubi into him. They chose this life for him, a life of abuse and pain and neglect. He had been alone for so long that he wasn't sure he would ever know what being part of a family was all about. But then he looked at Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke and he realised that maybe, just maybe, all his pain and suffering had been worth it. The friends he had were true to him, and as Iruka used to say to Naruto when he was younger, a few really good, loyal friends, are better than hundreds of good ones.

"Is there anything else I should know Baa-Chan?" Naruto asked. Tsunade nodded and handed Naruto a small file and a set of keys.

"The keys are to your parents' home. The home you were supposed to live in from the start. The file contains something you told me you wanted." Tsunade said gently. Naruto opened it. Inside there were pictures. Not thousands, but a few. The first one that Naruto saw was a picture of a weak looking, red haired woman, holding a blond baby, with the Yondaime Hokage by her side. This was a photo of him with his parents.

"When? When did they have the time to take this?" Naruto uttered.

"I took that photo." Jiraiya said softly. Naruto looked at the old Sannin. "Your parents asked me to be your Godfather and I accepted, this was before you were born. Once Kyubi had been released, Minato bought your mother and you back home, hoping that your mother could spend her last moments with you. They asked me to take this picture so that you would know one family photo, so that you would see how much they loved you." Jiraiya said. Naruto looked at the picture again before he closed the file.

"I guess, I need to get a picture frame. I don't want anything to happen to it." Naruto said softly.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay that's the end of this chapter. I was going to make it longer, but then I'd have less chapters, and I'm planning to try and make this twelve chapters long. So if I want this fic to have another five chapters, I'll have to pace it a little. LOL! Please R&R and let me know what you think and I will try to update as soon as possible.


	8. Festival

Okay all, here is the next chapter of Team Cat-Kashi. I hope you all enjoy it and thanks to all those who added me to their faves and alerts, and to all those who reviewed, I am eternally grateful. Replies to anonymous reviewers are below.

**narutofan:** Hey again narutofan. Thanks for reviewing as always. I'm glad you found Naruto's reaction realistic.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Team Cat-Kashi!

Chapter Eight – Festival.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto went with Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura to see the home that would have been his. He entered a room with a crib, and toys, it was painted a sky blue, and Naruto felt his heart clench.

"This would have been my room." Naruto said softly. Sasuke and Sakura stood either side of him and Kakashi stood behind him. "Yondaime was your Sensei, right Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Yes he was." Kakashi answered.

"Did you know my Mother?" Naruto asked again. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes I knew her quite well. She was always trying to get me to take off my mask. You have her personality Naruto. She was fun loving and she liked to play pranks, just like you. She was also a strong Kunoichi, but she couldn't complete the basic clone jutsu, only the shadow clone jutsu." Kakashi said. Naruto closed his eyes. Trying to imagine his mother walking into the room, fiddling with the baby clothes, or the toys, or even rearranging the crib. Kakashi looked at Naruto, and he could see that Naruto was trying to envision his parents. "Minato, your father, he was calm and collected. He always knew what to do in any situation. His dream was to become Hokage, just like yours is." Kakashi said. Naruto imagined his parents standing by the window of the nursery, looking out. Naruto wished that he could have met them, just for a few moments. But Naruto knew it wasn't possible.

"I think it's time to go." Naruto said sadly. Team Seven left the house, Naruto locked the door behind him and he looked at his team. "So what are we doing now?" Naruto asked.

"Training." Sasuke stated. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You always want to train. This time I'm not biting. We're going to find a picture frame. I'm not ruining the only pictures I have of my parents." Naruto stated. Sasuke smirked.

"Okay Dobe. Lead the way." Sasuke said.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, as Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi wandered around, Sasuke and Sakura took notice of the villagers that glared at Naruto. Team Seven took note of the decorations being hung up for the festival. It was in a few days and so was Naruto's birthday. Naruto found a photo frame shaped like a green frog, and another one that was blue and orange, with red swirls on it. Naruto looked at the prices and it was as Naruto was doing this, that the stall owner saw him. Sasuke frowned when he saw the look on the man's face. Kakashi grabbed the two photo frames.

"How much for these?" Kakashi asked.

"For you, one hundred yen. For him, six hundred." The man said coldly. Kakashi glared before he took one hundred yen from his own wallet and handed it over, taking the frames. He then led Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura away from the stall. Naruto didn't seem too concerned by the stall owner's behaviour, but Sasuke and Sakura weren't happy.

"How dare he say that. He'd sell it for six times the price to Naruto for what?" Sasuke hissed angrily.

"It's because of Kyubi. It always has been." Naruto said sadly. The group made their way back to the Uchiha house after that, not wanting to see any more ignorant people.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It had come to Naruto's birthday and when he woke up, he heard voices in the kitchen. Naruto got up and made his way to the kitchen, to find Sakura making pancakes, Sasuke eating a tomato, and Kakashi reading his book at the breakfast table. Naruto rubbed his eyes in disbelief, wondering if he was seeing things. But once he had rubbed his eyes, he still saw the trio sitting in the kitchen. Even the cats were eating from their own little bowls.

"Happy Birthday Naruto." Sakura stated cheerfully.

"Happy Birthday Dobe." Sasuke said.

"Happy Birthday Naruto." Kakashi said kindly. There was a knock at the door and Naruto went to open it. Outside was Iruka.

"Happy Birthday Naruto!" Iruka said cheerfully.

"Iruka Sensei? Wanna come in for breakfast?" Sakura called, poking her head around the door. Iruka blinked, looked at Naruto and then nodded.

"Of course. I'd be happy to join you all for breakfast." Iruka said. He knew Naruto would have been disappointed if he hadn't, and the one day of the year Iruka wanted to make Naruto happy, more than any other day, was his birthday.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"So we're keeping an eye on Naruto because Kakashi has told you that they are taking him to the festival?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade nodded, sitting on a tree branch, watching the goings on of the Uchiha house. "So why are we watching now?" Jiraiya asked.

"Because Naruto is going to have a good birthday this year if it kills me, and I've already named you as my successor in my will." Tsunade told Jiraiya bluntly. Jiraiya scowled.

"There is no way I'm going to become Hokage. You know I'd be a terrible Hokage. Besides, it won't kill you. Naruto is going to have a good day." Jiraiya stated firmly. Tsunade smiled.

"No harm in making sure." Tsunade said, as they carried on watching. Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Shizune cursed as she went over the paperwork, wondering exactly how Tsunade had managed to convince her to do this for the day in the first place.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

As it started to get dark, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi were determined to get Naruto to go to the festival.

"You have as much right to go to the festival as anyone Naruto, in fact you have more right than anyone else." Sakura stated seriously. Naruto shook his head at his friends.

"I can't go to the festival guys. It'll just cause trouble." Naruto said seriously.

"No it won't because we're going as a team." Sakura replied sternly. Sasuke nodded and Kakashi looked over his book for a moment to look at Naruto before he looked back at it again. Naruto didn't want to go to the festival. He'd only been a couple of times in his childhood and it had never ended well.

"Naruto, you're a citizen of Konoha. You're a Shinobi. You help to protect this village. So you should enjoy the festival the same as everyone else." Sasuke stated. Naruto allowed his team to convince him to go to the festival, but he knew that he was going to have trouble.

xXxXxXx LATER THAT NIGHT xXxXxXx

Naruto had been dressed up in an orange yukuta, as he walked with Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi at the festival. Sakura was wearing a pink kimono, Sasuke wore a navy blue yukuta with the Uchiha symbol on the back. Kakashi wore a black yukuta. Naruto bumped into all the rookie nine, and Lee, Neji and Ten Ten, and all the Senseis. Naruto had to admit that he was having fun, just being with his friends and seeing the people he cared about. They went to Ichiraku's and Iruka was waiting for them. This made Naruto happy. He had always seen Iruka as a member of his family, limited though it was, and for once he was celebrating his birthday in the open, but celebrating his birthday wouldn't have felt the same without Iruka being there, just as eating breakfast this morning wouldn't have been the same without him. It was as the group were eating ramen that a drunk villager stumbled in.

"What's that demon doing here? I'll get rid of him." The Drunk slurred. Old man Ichiraku and Ayame glared at the drunk.

"You can remove yourself. I won't have anyone insulting Naruto here, if you don't like that he's here, get out." Old man Ichiraku said sternly. The drunk looked at Naruto, then at the others around him, and decided to leave.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tsunade was watching with Jiraiya from a rooftop. Both keeping an eye on Naruto.

"It looks like he's having fun." Jiraiya said. Tsunade smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it really does. I'm glad. Maybe we should go and join them. Safety in numbers and all that." Tsunade said. Jiraiya nodded and smiled. The pair made their way to Ichiraku's and soon were joining the group, eating ramen and celebrating Naruto's birthday, just like a family normally would.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later on, as the group met up with the other rookies, Naruto could see that some villagers were getting restless. He had seen these same villagers chase him away from the festival every year. Drunks and lowlifes with nothing better to do but yell at a boy who wanted to be included. It was hard, thinking that there were some people who would never accept him, because of what he was.

"Hey Naruto!" Chouji called. Shikamaru and Ino were with him.

"Happy Birthday!" Kiba yelled, Hinata and Shino were behind him.

"It is Naruto-Kun's birthday?" Lee asked. Naruto saw Lee, Ten Ten and Neji standing there.

"Yeah it's his birthday." Sasuke said. Lee grinned brightly.

"May your flames of youth always burn brightly Naruto-Kun and may you have many more happy birthdays to come!" Lee exclaimed.

"I hope he drops dead tonight!" One man yelled. Naruto froze where he was. The others all looked at the man.

"That's a horrible thing to say!" Ino exclaimed loudly.

"Naruto may be a bit of a prankster but he's not that bad. Especially since he became a Shinobi." Kiba added.

"He should never have been allowed to become a Shinobi. Creatures like him shouldn't be allowed to exist." The man said.

"I would be quiet right now if I were you." Jiraiya said menacingly. The man didn't seem to notice.

"Why? Why shouldn't everyone know the truth? The Kyubi killed my family and yet it gets to live on in _him_. That's not justice. The Yondaime had to seal it into a baby, so why not just kill him afterwards huh? Save us the trouble of looking at that thing every day, living in our village, eating our food, drinking our drink and laughing at us behind our backs because we house the thing that murdered so many of our people." The man said. Neji, Lee, Ten Ten, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru all looked shocked and confused by what the man had said. Jiraiya and Tsunade were both furious.

"You realise that you have broken the law don't you?" Tsunade said to the man.

"Why should I care? A law that protects a murderous little monster isn't a law, it's a cruelty." The man stated. That was when Tsunade gestured to a couple of on duty Shinobi, and asked them to take the man to a cell to await her judgement. Naruto was horrified as he realised that all the people that meant anything to him had heard the truth about who he is. He didn't know what to say to them all.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Okay all, just a short little chapter. I wanted to show Naruto enjoying the festival despite the fact that there are jerks around, because he has a little family unit of his own now to look after him. Please R&R and let me know what you think and I will update soon.


End file.
